


ASCEND

by Sahvot



Category: League of Legends
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Mild Sexual Content, Not Canon Compliant, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn, Suggestive Themes, Tag Suggestions Welcome, new and old lore mashup
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-20
Updated: 2020-04-10
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:21:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 18,826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23181655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sahvot/pseuds/Sahvot
Summary: Darkness is not inherently evil, just as the light is not inherently holy.
Relationships: Diana/Leona (League of Legends)
Comments: 19
Kudos: 38





	1. The Sun Rises

**Author's Note:**

> I'd like to open this by saying this fic is not a robbery. I started this fic in the summer of 2014, before I knew The Archive was a thing, and it has been thus far posted on FFN. Yes, I am the original author, please don't get confused. But if you've read before, welcome back. I wanted to port the fic here as ao3 is my preferred place to consume fiction nowadays and I wanted to possibly expand the fics reach. If you read the original, you may notice some things have been changed or removed; I wanted to polish it a bit before it came here.
> 
> If you like you can read (and spoil for yourself) the original fic in its full, horrible glory. My FFN is linked on my profile. Don't do it fam, it's a dumpster fire. Once I get to around chapter 10, all the chapters there will be updated with the ones I post here. I considered doing the entire lot in one go but I'd drive myself nuts and I don't wanna burn myself out.
> 
> The lore in this fic is a mix of new and old (very old, around season 3, 4 lore since that's when this fic was first published). New lore aspects become more apparent later in the story and are more mentioned or nodded to rather than outright stated.
> 
> For this chapter in particular, the Harowing, what we now know as the Black Mist, did all sorts of spooky stuff all over Runeterra, and was sometimes heralded by an eclipse.
> 
> If there are ever any questions about the lore used in this fic, please feel free to ask. I'd be more than happy to explain, or hear your thoughts about it.
> 
> I'd also like to mention that I consider Leona's breastplate to be a _functional, full-torso piece of armor god dammit Riot._

The unforgiving sun was especially bright over all of Mount Targon that day. Diana had to shield her eyes as she stepped out of her living quarters. Even the transition from her dimmed room to the shade of the concrete slab above pained her eyes. She spent a few moments here, blinking and contorting her face until she could see again. As she stepped out into the sunlight, however, she kept the hand above her eyes and squinted.

Diana half sprinted across the village, clutching a small collection of books to her chest. She passed several people on her way to the Elder's library, and, after a while, she noticed all of them were going in the same direction to the Solari temple. A few of them refused to move out of her way, forcing her to slow down to avoid them. Each time she said a small apology to which she was often returned with a hiss. Eventually one of them stopped her, grabbing her by the arm. Diana nearly tripped over her robes and dropped her books in an effort to catch herself. "I-I'm so sorry," she stammered as she bent over, thinking she had run into the man by accident. When she straightened herself she was met with the stern, wrinkled face of her father. What few strands of silver hair he had left were carefully pressed against his head. Diana immediately cast her eyes wayward again.

"Diana, where do you think you're going?" he barked.

Diana quickly glanced up at him, then away again. "I just wanted to return these books before morning mass."

Her father gave a short, annoyed sigh. "The mass comes before everything, Diana, you shouldn't—" he stopped and clenched his jaw, thinking a moment. "What books are those, Solari texts?"

Diana nodded, but it was a lie. She held the astronomy books close to her chest.

"Drop them off quickly, then come straight to the temple, understand?"

Diana nodded again.

"Today is an important day. I expect you to be there."

"Yes, Father," she replied, exasperated.

He released Diana's arm and continued with the crowd of people. Diana stood motionless, watching him until he had melted away with them. She sharply turned on her heel and continued her sprint to the library. She slowed herself only as she came to the top of the marble stairs and proceeded into the building with silent footfalls. Diana quickly glanced around the vast, open building; she could not resist the impulse to do so despite the mass gathering she had witnessed. She crept around the bookcases and made her way to the back wall. She crouched down to the bottom row of books, pulled a few out after thumbing through the selection, and replaced them with three of the four tomes she had brought with her. New books. Diana blew the dust off their faces, her lips manifesting into the faintest of smiles. She gathered them and pulled herself up with the bookcase.

Diana went back around the rows of bookcases to the middle of the library where a few long tables were placed. She sat and spread the books before her. She drummed her fingers on her cheek. "Which one to delve first?" she whispered. Diana finally picked out an astronomy book. She stacked the others in a pile next to her, save for a leather-bound book. She opened both selections next to each other with the leather bound book next to her writing hand. Here she pulled the charcoal pencil from the small loop of fabric on the inside cover and, after briefly looking at the notes she made on the front few pages, flipped to the last page she had written on.

Diana briefly paused and looked up. The library, like most of the public buildings in the village, had a circular opening in the roof to allow the  _ sun's glory  _ to be ever-present in everyday life. Diana gave a small laugh at this thought. The sun was an apparent, cruel being. How could it ever be excluded from life during the day? The design of the roof had only one benefit that Diana found worthy. On unclouded nights, the opening allowed for studying long into the night. Although Diana did this as often as she could, it was forbidden to be out and about an hour after the sun had set, except during special circumstances.

There were more than a few times that she could remember being caught outside her living quarters after the sun had set. The first few when she was a small child were punished with harsh words, but as the years progressed the punishments became more and more painful. She distinctly remembered one that happened three years before that to her seemed like yesterday. When she was thirteen, she snuck out of her living quarters about an hour before dawn. It was the middle of the Harrowing and the early morning sky was filled with a dark, ghastly glow.

Diana had made it to a hilltop outside of the village, thinking she had not been followed. She still had to cover her eyes, but the fading darkness made the viewing much easier. As she gazed at the half-eclipsed sun in amazement, a village elder and an Iron Solari guard discovered her. She ran, and for this she was beaten across the legs with a whip; the Iron Solari held her down while the elder beat her and spat obscenities at the girl. The encounter left her bedridden for almost a week and dependent on others for necessities. The whip had bruised, welted, and in some places harshly tore her skin. Nothing was ever done to the elder or the guard; to the people, this was how heresy was dealt with. The gashes had healed, but she would bear the scars forever.

Diana drew in a deep breath at the memory and held it in her chest a few moments as she ran her fingers across her eyes. She finally exhaled a short sigh and turned her eyes back to the book. She thumbed through the contents, found something of interest, and flipped to the desired page.

Before she had realized it, Diana had spent hours poring over the books she selected. She had gone back and forth between the table and bookshelf on the back wall more than a few times, and eventually decided to study there instead. She kept most of the books she had pulled stacked in a pile on the floor. A few of them were brimming with tiny page markers. By the change of light in the building, Diana could tell morning mass was over. It was possibly midday now, perhaps a bit later. To her, though, it was not much of a loss. She was never fond of the discussions and sermons held at mass; always raising the sun to be the one true power, and dismissing the moon as an evil being. How dare the moon take precious time away from the sun? Diana scoffed. She could care less that she had missed morning mass, especially with the sun as brutal as it was. In the back of her mind, however, she knew her father would not be pleased.

By dusk she had thumbed through at least a dozen books. Some she read the majority of the pages while others she skimmed over, their information redundant, archaic, or biased Solari text. She put these books away, leaving only the ones with page markers in them, three books she found intriguing, stacked in a pile. When she was satisfied with her selections, she gathered them up and quickly walked toward the front exit. She had made it to the archway before she was caught.

"Diana!"

She froze, her shoulders boxing against her frame.

"Diana, come here this instant!" her father roared, pointing to the ground with a shaking finger. When again she refused to move, he stomped his foot and came up the stairs after her at an alarming speed. Diana let out a half-shriek and quickly turned to run away, but she was caught by the arm. "What did I tell you?" he yelled, turning with his daughter and pulling her down the stairs. Diana tried to resist, dragging her feet on the ground. "You were supposed to come to mass! Where were you all day, here? Do you know how disgraceful that is?"

"I’m sorry,” she said, but she wasn’t truly, “I lost track of — Ow!"

"Yes, I'm sure you did." He grumbled lowly, yanking her off the last step when she refused to budge. One of the books in Diana's arm fell to the dirt, face up. It was an astronomy book. Diana watched in horror as her father quickly snatched it and skimmed through the first few pages. His face started to turn red. "Dammit, Diana!" he yelled, throwing the book back down. He began to pull her to the Solari temple. "You and your damn moon! You're just like your mother, you never listen!"

Diana's eyes began to sting. "You never listen to me!" she countered, yanking her arm away.

She was quickly struck down at this accusation. "What you're doing is heresy." He replied, his voice low. "Heretics are punished, Diana, or worse! I warned your traitorous mother of the same thing, and she did not listen to me. Now she’s gone!"

"But  _ you  _ don't listen," Diana hissed. "I only want the truth. There is more to the heavens than the sun; you and I both know this!"

She received a sharp kick to the stomach, and she curled over again with a slight gurgling noise. "Do you know what happens to heretics, Diana?" She did not respond. She was too busy holding her stomach, figuratively and metaphorically. He kicked her again, and would have proceeded to do a third kick.

"Leave her be," demanded a gentle, yet commanding voice.

The demand made her father's foot stop midstrike and he looked in the direction the voice had come from. His face immediately became expressionless and he took a slight bow. "Chosen of the Sun, please excuse me, I was only punishing this girl for—" His voice took on a tone she had not heard in years, one of reverence, respect, even. It was so unusual. 

_ Great, now the sun is going to punish me _ , Diana thought.

"That will not be necessary," the avatar replied, walking over to the two. Diana dared not move from her place. She stared up at the obscured figures through the veil of her platinum hair.

"With all due respect, Chosen, this girl has studied practices against you," her father added. "She even missed your arrival today."

"I see," the other replied. "Go on, before the sun sets. I will deal with her myself." When Diana's father hesitated to leave, she again told him to leave and gave a dismissing motion of her hand. He finally relented and sulked off, looking behind him as he walked the dirt path to the living district. The Avatar waited, watching him warily until she felt the man was out of earshot.

She dug her shield and sword into the dirt and knelt, elbows perched on her knees. "Are you all right?" At first Diana did not respond, not wanting to move from her submissive position. "I'm not really going to punish you, just relax. I'm here to help." 

Diana still hesitated to move for a few seconds, but eventually she slowly raised herself to sit. The woman smiled. It was unlike anything Diana had seen in a long time; so warm and gentle, so unlike the stern, harsh faces of the villagers. 

Her too-golden armor seemed to soak the dying rays of the day, glittering off each curve and ornate swirl etched in the metal. The armor was just a bit too large, she could tell, but the Chosen appeared to carry it well enough. It was funny, Diana thought as she eyed the woman. She nearly looked like a sun, the way the light reflected off of her. She was almost equally difficult to look at. Befitting of the sun’s Champion, she supposed. 

The Avatar's eyes met with the pile of scattered books. She reached out for one that was spine-up in the dirt. It was the blank faced leather bound book. Diana made a slight retort as she realized which book she had picked up and reached out for it, but the other woman stopped her. "It's okay," she said without opening the book. She set it in front of Diana and proceeded to pick the others up, putting them on her knee and holding them in place there. "I just want to help you. Do you think you can walk?"

Diana looked down to the dirt, her eyes casting. "I don't know. I think so?" she answered, then quickly added, "I don't wish to burden you, Avatar."

"Please," she said, pushing herself to her feet and extending her free hand. "Call me Leona." Diana stared at the outstretched hand, unsure whether to take it or stay put. "Come on, I'll take you home. No one is going to hurt you, I promise." Diana picked up her book with one hand and pulled herself up with Leona's help. She handed Diana the remainder of her books, then retrieved her shield and sword, placing the latter in a scabbard at her hip. "Now, which way do you live?"

Diana clutched her books tenderly to her body and pointed southeastward, the same direction her father had gone. The two women started off in that direction and most of the walk to the living district was in silence. After some time, Leona curiously asked, "So you like reading about the heavens, huh?"

Diana shot her a quick glance. "'Like' is not the word I would use."

"So you love it then?"

Diana sighed, and a pressure in her chest eased a little. "It is my life, it has been since I was just a girl," she replied. "Each day I read through books, observe the moon, the stars, apply theories, record my discoveries."

"Is that why you were punished?" Leona's voice was even and gentle. There were no hints of disdain in her words.

Diana nodded. "Among other things."

"Why? What's the harm in studying something?"

"I've done this for years," Diana explained. "The Solari consider the moon as the utmost source of evil, as if everything bad that happens in the world is the fault of the moon. I've tried for so long to prove them wrong." She paused, shaking her head. "But they won't listen." Diana stopped; Leona followed suit. "Have you heard of the Lunari?"

Leona's lips twisted slightly as she thought. "I think so, but I'm not very familiar with them. The Rakkor do not associate much with people and ideals outside their borders."

Diana raised a brow at her. _ She's from the Rakkor? Why is she so eager to defend instead of kill? _ "They were a group of people completely culled from this mountain because they were deemed inferior to the Solari in every way." Diana stated. Her gaze shifted wayward and she continued down the path. Leona hesitated a moment, her head tilted as she watched her. She finally caught back up with Diana. "There's something about the moon," Diana continued. "It's not like the sun. You can actually look at it without being punished. It's not hot. The night breeze is so cool and refreshing, it lives and it breathes." Diana shifted her gaze back to Leona, who was looking at her with a blank expression. Diana frowned. "Ah, I’m sorry, I should not speak of this in front of the sun’s Chosen. You think I'm crazy, don't you?"

At this Leona's expression changed to apologetic. "No, not at all. I just find your points interesting."

Diana's brows furrowed and she looked down to her feet. "So, you're not like the other Solari."

Leona shook her head. "My only purpose in life is to serve and protect my people, not to judge them for the choices they make." She watched Diana as they walked, but she made no attempt to respond to her. "No one is ever going to hurt you like that again."

Diana scoffed, a nerve within her struck. "Please, give me a break.” She quickened her pace a little. She was sore and beyond ready to rest.

Leona made a face and again caught up to her, placing a gauntlet-protected hand on her shoulder. "I'm being serious. They will do as I say."

Diana turned sharply, pushing the hand from her shoulder. "It does not matter if you're the queen of space, they will still find reasons to punish me. They are not going to have the logic 'We're going against tradition because this new person showed up.'" She picked up her pace, distancing herself from Leona, and was content when footsteps stopped following her. Good, she thought, she too has gone away.

"What is your name?"

She stopped in her tracks. Diana was dumbfounded at the question. "Excuse me?"

"Your name,” Leona said, nearly shouting. “You never told me your name."

Diana's eyes narrowed. "My name is Diana." She turned and continued along the path.

"I promise, Diana!" Leona called out after her. "If anyone lays a hand on you, come tell me first! I'll deal with them."

Diana threw up a hand dismissively. She walked the rest of the way to the living quarters alone. The walk did not take long. When she arrived at her door on the edge of her building, she shoved her shoulder against it roughly to force it open. Diana entered and quickly closed the door, then, with some effort, fastened its iron bolt across the door frame. At times she wished she had never installed the bolt. Other times she was thankful the day's torment could not follow her inside.

She turned around and sighed happily at her tiny one-room hovel. A small bed was shoved against the back left corner and a shabby bookshelf perched beside it. A crude window was carved out of the stone wall on the wall directly across the bed. A simple wooden desk and chair sat beneath the window.

Diana went to the desk and set the books she picked out on its surface. She started to pull the chair out to sit down, but stopped and clenched her jaw. Despite her day-long studying, she felt hardly in the mood to continue after the encounter with her father and the Avatar. 

She pushed the chair back under the desk, went to the bookshelf and placed her journal in an empty slot on the top shelf. Each book had a number printed in white on the spine and were organized by numbers descending. With a sigh she turned her head to look out the window. "Forgive me, moons, I cannot study tonight."

She changed out of her Solari robes into a long tunic and threw the robes towards a wicker basket in the corner near the door. It hung slightly over the top of the basket, eventually falling into the washing tub next to it, and she made a face. She made a note to wash her robes tomorrow.

Diana was not able to sleep right away, still worked up from the day. Oftentimes she would not rest until late into the night when the moon was overhead. Her head began to ache as she tossed and turned, thinking about the day, and particularly Leona. 

Who was this person, and why did she decide to inhibit tradition instead of spur it? Why, if she was the Solari's Sun, would she so easily be nondiscriminatory to someone who prayed to the moon? Diana rolled on her back, covering her face with her hands. "Why am I asking myself these questions? Why do I care?"

She turned on her stomach and rested her head on her arms, sighing into her mattress. As much as Diana hated to admit it, this woman intrigued her. What was it about Leona that made her curious?  _ She's different _ , she said to herself. She shook her head in her arms, her platinum hair smearing across her face. She turned her head slightly, enough to let one grey eye look out the window. The moon had risen into the night sky, bathing the room in pale light. A sense of calmness washed over Diana's body. Her head eased and she closed her eyes, dipping her head back into her arms. She muttered a quiet prayer before slipping into sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always I'm happy to hear from my audience. I'm always looking for ways to improve my writing or new perspectives. Both are wonderful food for thought. Thank you all for reading.


	2. Written on Stars

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first few chapters are a bit sporadic in timeline, skipping ahead a bit. It was like this in the original and I wanted to keep the integrity of the original timeline while smoothing it out a bit and getting rid of _the absolute stupid_ that plagued it. It should read well enough, but I apologize in advance if it is a bit confusing.
> 
> The first few chapters are fairly short for this reason, though hopefully they remain interesting enough. The chapters tend to get longer the further in we go but the average hovers between 5-6k.
> 
> I do not typically write and post chapters this fast, however given current events I've had ample time to write. The next two chapters are mostly done, those will be coming later this week or next week.

When the sun poked its way through Diana's window the next morning, she responded with a disgruntled groan and rolled over to the wall, facing it. One of her arms was folded beneath her pillow, which she held parallel to her body. The other arm was thrown across her eyes. Minutes passed, and although she could still feel the death grip of sleep in her body, she was unable to continue her rest. She finally submitted, pushing herself up to sit on the bed. She threw a soft punch into her pillow and stretched, her muscles and tendons screaming to life.

With a yawn she rose from her bed. Almost immediately she felt stiffness in her abdomen. Diana pulled her tunic up to discover what she had expected; bruises had formed across her skin. She pressed her fingers to her ribs gently and found them tender. She grimaced and let the tunic fall back down, combing her fingers angrily through her hair.

Diana went over to her desk, pulled out the chair and sat with a hand to her head. "I'm being naïve." Her eyes shifted to the stack of books she had brought home. She pulled one from the collection and began to read through it.

About an hour or so later there was a knock on Diana's door. At first she tried to do her best to ignore it, but it came again much louder this time. She rubbed her eyes. _Maybe if I stay quiet, they will leave me alone._ This was wishful thinking. "Diana, open the door! You're not missing mass today!" Her father. "I know you're in there, open up!"

Diana sighed and rose from her chair. "I'm not decent!" she yelled back.

"Hurry up and get dressed!"

She rolled her eyes. Diana could hardly remember a time where she and her father spoke without yelling about one thing or another. She quickly changed into her last robe. She took the books on her desk and slid them beneath her bed so her father would not see them, then went to unbolt and open the door. 

Her father pulled her out into the streets before she could so much as get a word out. "Now you listen here, Diana," he began, and she immediately tuned him out. There was no sense in listening to the man; she heard the same lecture more times than she cared to count. It was always 'Do this, don't do that, pay attention during mass.' It made her sick to think of it.

"Do you hear me Diana?"

"Yes, Father," she replied automatically.

"I expect you to behave and to attend mass from now on. The Chosen will be accompanying us."

_Leona…I'll see her again._

They were now outside the Solari temple. "Leona will not have time to deal with you or anyone today. Do not waste her time. Understand?" He stopped her and turned her so she faced him. "You look disgraceful. Why didn't you brush your hair or wash up before you came?"

"Why didn't you let me before we left?" she defended.

Her father gave a curt huff and continued up the stairs. Diana remained in her spot for a second, attempting to fix her hair with her fingers. Her father called out for her and she hurried up the steps after him.

As she walked in, two Iron Solari half-heartedly greeted her at the archway to which she responded with a glare. She found her father sitting where he usually did, around the middle of the temple on the left side. Diana took a seat next to him. She took a quick glance around; it had been a very long time since she had attended mass. The temple was alive with chatter. Most if not all the village's residents had turned out for it, even the more nonreligious ones. All of the elders were seated at the front of the temple on either side of a stone pedestal, facing the villagers.

Behind them were several frescoes depicting the all the previous Solari Avatar. It told their story from left to right, from receiving the gift of the sun's power, to the glory days of the Solari people, and finally, the purge of the Lunari. The last fresco she had always found difficult to view. Instead, this fresco depicted a Solari "warrior" slaying members of the Lunari.

Her father glanced over when he saw she was taking interest in the scenery. "I'm glad you came today," he said quietly as he leaned toward her. "Look at all these people; look at how devoted they are." Diana did not respond, her grey eyes fixed on the fresco. "The frescoes were restored last month. What do you think about them?"

All Diana could think was, _Where is Leona?_

The elders suddenly rose in unison and the chatter ceased. The villagers stood and turned to face the archway. Diana looked to her father, who was standing as well. He motioned for her to stand. When Diana stood and turned as everyone else had, she saw a third figure in the archway; the two Iron Solari were standing next to it.

"Bow your heads. The Radiant Dawn has arrived."

They all obeyed, Diana hesitantly so. She kept her eyes open and shifted them upwards when Leona walked past, but she was obscured by the guards accompanying her. She managed to get a quick look from her peripheral vision as Leona approached the pedestal; she was not wearing the Solari armor, nor did she have the previous Avatar's prized weapon or shield. Instead, she had donned traditional burgundy and gold Solari robes. Even as Leona took a place behind the pedestal and the Iron Solari took a place next to her, the villagers remained still.

"Thank you. You may be seated." Leona's voice was strong and clear, despite it echoing slightly off the temple walls.

The villagers sat almost in unison. Diana sat on the edge of her seat, hands folded in her lap, eyes fixated on Leona. The light from the opening above seemed only to illuminate Leona's features; her vibrant hair shined like fire and her amber eyes stood out, even from a distance. When she tilted her head back to look up into the opening, the light played across the sharpness of her features.

Her heart caught in her throat and she swallowed thickly. _She's stunning,_ she thought _._ Diana found herself lost in thought, but was quickly brought back with a quick jab to the side from her father. She suppressed a cry of pain and instead shot him a hateful look. She was met by an even nastier one.

"Pray," he spat quietly, then looked up towards the ceiling. Diana reluctantly complied.

A quiet rumble of words; the villagers were repeating the prayer Leona was giving.

Diana heard her father sigh happily as the prayer concluded. "She's so well-spoken." Diana gave a slight shake of her head.

Mass dragged on into the morning, just as Diana remembered. She felt incredibly uneasy around so many people, and she could have spent her time doing more fruitful things. She kept her eyes fixated on Leona, however, not particularly paying attention to her words or what the elders were saying, but instead watching her, remembering every feature of her face, her movements, and committing them to memory. Her father, who was none the wiser to her true intentions, gave her tap on the shoulder.

Mass ended in a similar way that it had begun. Everyone rose and Leona and the two guards were the first to exit, followed by the elders, then everyone else. As they were walking down the steps, Diana's father grabbed her by the shoulder and shook her a little. "I'm proud of you," he said, and broke off to join a crowd of people. 

Diana stopped at the end of the stairs, a confused look on her face. The word rang hollow in her heart. She pressed a hand to her ribs where bruises yet lie and she frowned acutely. _Proud_ , she thought with a scowl. What had she done to deserve such a word? She showed up not because she wanted to, curse the Solari and their masses, but because her father dragged her here. 

Diana made her way back to her living quarters. She dumped the contents of the wicker basket into the washbasin, hefted it up and went back out into the village. She traveled towards the eastern exit out of the village, down a path leading to a small stream. Many of the villagers were out and about now that mass was over, tending to their daily routines. They hardly paid her much attention and for this Diana was thankful.

“Maybe I should go to mass more often,” she muttered under her breath.

“Diana!”

She froze in her tracks, nearly instinctual now, despite the voice not belonging to her father. She turned halfway around. Leona was some distance off, surrounded by Iron Solari. Diana could see the mirth on Leona’s face even from their distance. Leona broke away from the Iron Solari, much to their dismay, and ran down the path towards Diana. 

“It is good to see you,” Leona said when she caught up with her, nearly breathless. “Where are you going?”

Diana hesitated for a moment, looking behind herself and then back to Leona. “To the river,” she said, and hefted the washbasin. “I need to clean some things.”

“Do you mind if I accompany you?” 

Diana’s brows drew together with confusion. “You...want to watch me wash my clothes?”

“Well, no,” Leona began, a hand going to the back of her head. “You just, I don’t know, you do not seem the type to sputter on about ‘Chosen this, Chosen that.’ The others, your elders, treat me like a sacred object. It’s very tiring.”

“You could easily achieve silence through solitude,” Diana said, and she turned and continued down the path. 

“I do not want silence,” Leona said, trailing after her. 

“Pray tell, then, what do you want?”

“A genuine conversation,” Leona replied, catching up with Diana and stopping before her. Diana’s eyes narrowed, partially out of annoyance and partially from the light. Her countenance softened a measure when she looked upon Leona’s face in earnest, finding details she had not yet noticed. The sharpness of her brow; the slope of her jaw; the beginnings of freckles dotting her skin. She recoiled as emotion tossed in her stomach. “I’ve hardly been here a day, but no one here has spoken to me like I’m not some mouthpiece for the gods. You differ from the others, you break with tradition.”

“I hardly think the elders would enjoy the idea of their ‘mouthpiece’ speaking to one they see with such scorn,” Diana said.

“They will not, no doubt. I do not care about that.”

Diana recoiled. _How...very odd_ , she thought. “All right,” Diana acquiesced, motioning with her head and continuing on the path. Leona fell in place beside her.

They continued on in silence for some time, until reaching the river bank a few minutes later. Diana set about doing what she came here for, emptying the basin onto the grass and filling it with water. Leona continued on, finding a nearby fallen tree to sit on. 

“The elders have told me many things about you,” Leona said, and Diana looked up briefly to her as she removed the golden sashes from the robes and laid them out in the grass. 

“Nothing good, I imagine.”

“They said you have a, how did they put it, an unnatural affinity for the traitorous darkened sky.” Leona laughed, and Diana felt her heart catch. “Ridiculous,” the Sun’s Chosen said. “But they also tell me you refuse to break, that you will not bend to the sun.”

Diana’s jaw clenched and she focused on the task before her. She took the robes and dipped them into the water, being careful to hide the shake in her hands beneath darkened fabric. “Do you intend to bend me towards it?”

“Hardly,” Leona said. Diana hazarded a glance at her for a brief moment. The Chosen’s face was calm, sincere, if she dared to think so. “It is admirable, to be so devoted to your convictions. It is what I expected from the Solari, but I have yet to find any of the sun’s flock who do not bow out of fear. You refuse. I like that.”

There was a pause, with only the sounds of the water interrupting the silence. 

“I told the elders I would try to bring you back to the sun’s light,” Leona said. Diana paused her work to look up at Leona. Her lips parted to retort but Leona continued before she could do so. “I won’t actually do that,” Leona assured her. “But maybe if I stick around, they would leave you be.” 

Diana was silent a moment, staring down into the water, brow tensed as she worked the fabric. This cannot be real, she told herself. There was no way. She lifted one of the robes from the water, examining it with a scowl, before lowering it back into the basin. “Of all the people you could have chosen,” she said, “you pick the one who goes against the faith you represent.”

“Forgive me if I make assumptions, Diana, but you seem to be lonely.”

“I have my books,” Diana said. “I have the stars and moon. That’s all I want.”

“But is it really?”

Diana turned her head to look at the other, wanting to twist her face into a venomous expression, but she could not. “You are a curious one,” she said. “Why do you insist on associating yourself with me?”

“I’m a bit like you, in a way,” Leona answered, and Diana barked a bit of laughter. Diana’s countenance dropped when Leona’s darkened, her eyes going to her hands folded in her lap. “What do you know of the Rite of Kor?”

Diana paused a moment, taking a moment to think. “Very little. Indulge me?”

“It is a proving of sorts. When the tyroes come of age, they have us fight one another to the death.”

“To what end?”

“Survival of the clan, mostly. Only the strongest, that sort of thing, and to bear the right of wielding the weapons of our betters.” 

Diana paused her work. She folded her legs in the grass, turned fully towards Leona now. “You went through these rites, then? You completed them?”

Leona’s lips turned into a fleeting smile and her eyes briefly flashed up to Diana. “Not exactly,” she said. Diana tilted her head inquisitively. “I refused to fight my opponent. He was someone I knew as long as I remembered. I could not raise my blade to him.”

“What did they do, your clansmen?”

“They called it blasphemy, heresy,” Leona said. Diana’s eyes went wide. “and they deemed me fit for execution. The title stripped me of everything; my status, my family, friends.”

“But clearly you’re alive,” Diana said, and an amused sound escaped Leona. “Did they reverse the decision?”

“No,” Leona said almost mournfully. “It was a public affair, my execution. They had me bound in the arena, and as they sent my executioners in, I pleaded to whatever gods I could. And then I heard a voice, and there was this... _bright_ blinding light everywhere.” Leona paused, wringing her hands together. “When it dissipated my executioners lay dead before me. I was released. They called me Chosen of the Sun. I did not know what that meant, or what had happened until a week later, when your elders came for me.”

“And now you’re here.”

She nodded. “And I am still alone, for the first time in my life.” she added. “It is a feeling I would not wish upon my worst enemy. For someone to feel that way every day, I cannot even begin to fathom it.”

Diana looked away, back into the basin. She dipped a hand into the water and mussed the fabric around. 

“So I figure I could accompany you between my training, keep watch over you, have someone to have _actual_ conversations with,” Leona said as Diana rose with the basin. She went to the water’s edge and emptied it, careful to keep the robes from following. “That is, if you’d have me, of course. I would not force my presence upon you.” 

“I’ll humor you, for now,” Diana answered, pulling a robe from the basin and pressing the water from it. She paused for a moment and stretched it out before her, examining the dark fabric. “So long as you do not try to sway me over to the Solari.”

A laugh bubbled from Leona’s throat. “I would never. In truth, I believe I am not nearly as religious as some of the Solari. Many borderline on zealotry.” 

“And I will be sure not to tell anyone you think that,” Diana said with a smile. She turned and lay the robe in the basin, stretched out across the sides, and pulled another from it. “Your training,” she began. She saw Leona move from the corner of her eye, placing one leg over the other. “When does that begin?”

“Tomorrow, if I understood correctly. It will keep me occupied for some time throughout the day, I do not know how long yet.” Diana nodded, placing the second robe down. “Where should I find you once I am done?”

“The archives,” Diana said. “And if I am not there, I may be at home.” 

"I'll find you," Leona assured.

They fell into a comfortable silence as Diana continued to work. They lingered by the riverbed long after she finished, asking questions of one another, exchanging experiences until the light grew short. Diana gathered her things as the sun began to fade, and the two made the journey back to the village, continuing to converse until they reached the village gates. A pair of Iron Solari regarded them warily as they approached, and extended their weapons to block the path. 

“My Chosen,” said one, his harsh voice obscured beneath his closed helm. “by what meaning do you accompany this woman?”

Leona’s brow harshened and she straightened her back, looking imperiously back at the pair of guards. “I found this acolyte outside the village bounds in the scarce hours of the day. I am escorting her back to ensure she does not practice magic against us.” 

The Iron Solari made a grumble and his head turned briefly to his companion. He made a motion and the pair withdrew their weapons from the pathway. “Do not tarry, then. Walk with the light, Chosen of the Sun.”

“And you,” she replied, leading Diana onward. When they were some distance away, Leona looked over her shoulder to Diana with a mischievous grin. Emotion fluttered in Diana’s chest, and she could not help the smile that spread across her lips. She looked down when the feeling reached her face. 

They continued on in silence until reaching Diana’s door. 

“Thank you,” Leona said as Diana set the washbasin down outside her door. 

Diana bent back up, looking at her companion with an inquisitive stare. “For what?”

“For letting me accompany you. For listening.”

“Oh.” Diana looked to her eyes, then quickly away again. She brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. “It’s nothing, really.”

Leona crushed her into an embrace before Diana could do or say anything else, and a surprised sound escaped Diana. “It means a great deal. You are the first to listen since my transformation.”

Diana’s hands hovered uselessly as she tried to process both the action and the words. It was too good to be true. With great effort she managed to lower her hands to Leona’s back, returning the embrace, albeit a bit more awkwardly. 

Leona pulled away from her, and her eyes were beaming. It enraptured her, she realized too late, in the same way the stars did on a cloudless night. She swallowed thickly. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” Leona promised.

“Tomorrow,” Diana repeated. Leona turned, waving a final goodbye before hurrying off. 

Diana quickly pushed open the door and dragged the washbasin in before closing and bolting the door again. She leaned against it heavily, sighing and releasing tension she did not know she was holding. 

Well, she thought, that was certainly a day. 

She smiled despite herself.

And she had another day to look forward to come the morn.

But for now she had thousands of pages to read, and so she went to her desk and began her work for the night.


	3. Naught is the Sky

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all I said later this week or next week _but these are done and I'm losing my mind in quarantine. Please send help._

The days slowly dragged on, and before either of them had realized it a month had passed since Leona's arrival. Diana and Leona slowly began to spend more and more time together, often in the late afternoon when she was finished with training. Oftentimes Diana would not speak a word to her; she would quietly read her books while Leona went on about her day or silently watched the people in the village. 

Sometimes, especially when it had grown late into the evening, Leona would ask her about her studies. Diana would close her book and spend lengthy amounts of time explaining whatever the avatar had inquired, and Leona would sit there, watching her with a smile across her face.

The elders had quickly taken notice of their constant closeness and were not satisfied by it. Although the elders had expressed their concerns to Leona, she brushed them off, saying that she was making slow but meaningful progress with Diana, turning her into a model Solari. In fact, Diana had gone that entire month without receiving anything more than a few harsh words. 

The sense of freedom spurred her, however, and Diana had found a new vigor when studying through the library. Through the game they played and Leona's protection, Diana felt much more confident in her search for clues about the Lunari. Eventually she established a routine; she would attend mass most mornings, do whatever she needed to afterwards, and then spend the rest of her time in the library until Leona arrived later that day. From here Diana would take whatever book she had chosen and followed Leona to wherever she decided to go.

There were some nights that Leona would stay with Diana long after the sun had set. The elders confronted her on more than one occasion, chastising her and urging her to stay on the path of the light. 

Leona cared little, however, and skipped a training session to spite them. On this particular day, she spent every hour in the library with Diana.

"What exactly are we looking for?" Leona asked as she followed Diana around the bookcases.

Diana kept walking at a slow pace, looking at the woodwork of the bookshelves closely. She pulled a few of the books out of each shelf, looked in the holes they created, and then replaced the books. "Anything," she answered, looking up at the bookcase before her. "There's got to be Lunari texts in here somewhere. Give me a lift. I want to check the top of this bookshelf. "

Leona looked at her with a puzzled face. "So like a compartment or something?"

"Yeah. Come on, lift me up."

"I'm not sure, Diana," Leona said, complying nonetheless and cupping her hands together. Diana grabbed the edge of the bookshelf, placed a foot in Leona's hands and pulled herself up. "Why would the Solari keep Lunari texts after the purge?" Diana did not respond for a moment. "See anything?"

"No." She slowly lowered herself with Leona's help. She moved on to another bookshelf. "That's just the thing. They wouldn't keep them."

"Okay, so why are we looking?"

"They're hidden in here somewhere." Diana answered, dropping to the lowest row of books.

Leona's face dropped and she sat cross-legged on the floor by Diana. She propped an elbow on her leg and placed her chin in her hand. "How long ago was the purge?"

"About a century ago I guess." Diana shifted to stand on her knees, checking through the next row.

"Don't take this the wrong way, Diana," Leona began, pulling a book from the shelf and looking at its face. The Solari symbol was burned onto it. "But do you think any piece of ‘heretical’ literature is going to survive that long?"

Diana's grey eyes shifted over to Leona; her face was expressionless. "I have to try. The Solari need to know they're not the only ones with a bountiful god."

"I have to admire your tenacity." Leona opened the book and skimmed through the first few pages. "Maybe we're not looking in the right place," she suggested.

"What do you mean?"

"Look," Leona turned the book around so Diana could see its contents. "This one is folklore." Leona turned and pulled another book off the same shelf. She read its face and turned it around. "This one, too. We're looking for information about the purge, right?"

"Yeah?"

"What if it's in the history section?" At this suggestion, Diana raised a brow. Leona sighed and ran a hand through her hair, stopping it halfway through. "I don't know, don't give me that look. I'm just trying to come up with ideas. It's at least worth a look, is it not?"

Diana leaned back to sit on her legs and crossed her arms across her chest. She was silent for a while, but just when Leona was about to plead her case once more, Diana moved, grabbing Leona's wrist and pulling her up with her. "We have a lot of bookshelves to go over. We'd best not waste time." Diana smiled at her, then dashed around the bookshelf. 

They spent hours in the middle section of the library; they had split up, one checking one bookshelf while the other rummaged through a different one. People came and went, not paying them much attention. Soon it was late in the afternoon. Leona had nearly given up after searching through shelf after shelf. She lay sprawled out on her back on the marble floor. "I'm exhausted," she groaned, covering her face with an arm.

"But you've scarcely done a thing today." Diana glanced at her from over her shoulder, smiling at the languor her friend uncharacteristically displayed. Even when she was like this, tired and stretched across the floor, she still held the radiance of the sun, its authority. It was evident in her form, in the way the light somehow still found her face, in the way fiery tresses were spread about her head in a grim halo.

"Maybe that's why I am tired." Leona removed the arm shielding her eyes. “What are you looking at?”

“Nothing,” Diana said, her attention quickly going back to the bookshelf to hide the flush she felt rushing to her cheeks. "A body at rest does stay at rest," Diana added, pulling yet another book off the shelf. "I think this is the last shelf."

"Thank the gods," Leona grumbled.

"You poor soul," Diana said with a smirk. She turned from the shelf, walked to where Leona was lying and sat cross-legged next to her. She opened the book in her lap and flipped through the pages. Her grey eyes shot up from the page to look at Leona. "You did this to yourself, you know, defying the elders and coming here." Leona simply mumbled in response. 

"I promise, if we don't find anything after this bookshelf, we'll go—" As Diana turned the page, a whole section of the book slumped forward. "—home." It was obvious by the binding on the paper that the pages did not belong to the book she held. She carefully took the section out, placed the book by her side and thumbed through the pages of the section.

After a moment Leona took notice of Diana's sudden silence. She raised herself to rest on her forearms, looking curiously at her friend. "What did you find?"

Diana shook her head slightly, running her fingers beneath the semi-faded words. It appeared to her that at one point someone had tried to restore the words by writing over them in fresh ink. "I think…maybe it's a journal of some sort? Look, the entries appear to be dated." Diana shifted a little and Leona sat up next to her. "Read this," Diana pointed to an entry, moving the section so that Leona could better see. Her companion squinted and struggled to read the words hastily scrawled on the page. 

_ ‘12-8, Zeno is becoming relentless. I fear for his mental health as well as that of the Solari and my people.' _

Leona's brow raised and she took a closer look at the writing. "Zeno…I know that name. He was the Sun’s Chosen before me. The elders told me about him."

"But did they tell you about this?" Diana asked. Leona shook her head.

"Maybe the Lunari avatar wrote these." Diana flipped a few pages carefully. The page she landed on had old but near-pristine notes written on the margins of the page.

"My brother has fallen desperately ill and I fear for his life. Grief consumes him and plagues his actions. The Solari are becoming agitated.'" Diana paused, skimming down a few entries. 

"'Zeno suffered a violent death, having thrown himself on his own sword.'" Diana felt Leona cringe next to her. She continued. "'I tried to save him from his frenzy, taking his sword and shield, but he died at my hands. The Solari are eager for blood in his wake, and I have fled with my people into the mountains.'" Diana shook her head and looked over at Leona. "It sounds as if he went mad."

"But why?" Leona questioned. "And if this was written after the Lunari fled, how did it get back to the village?"

Diana shrugged. "Maybe they came back."

Leona examined the notes, and then pointed to the margins. "Someone had to have found this and brought it back here, and by the looks of it, it wasn't long ago, maybe a decade or so." Leona propped her elbow on her leg and rested her chin in her hand.

Diana shook her head in disbelief. "But that does not make any sense." She turned the page. There were a few more entries from the Lunari avatar, then suddenly the entries stopped. A few pages had been visibly ripped from the segment. 

The following pages were written in fresher ink, just like the margin notes. There were several astrological calculations, tiny diagrams scrawled with numbers and letters next to them. Some pages contained star charts and constellations. On one of the final pages of the section, there was a message scrawled hastily as if in a panic. Diana's brows furrowed and her heart skipped; the writing seemed vaguely familiar. It almost called out to her.

Leona, again growing wary of Diana's silence, leaned forward to look into her companion’s face. "What is it?"

Diana swallowed, trying to suppress the lump in her throat. Her grey eyes darted over the frantic, broken sentences. "I think…I think this is my mother's handwriting," she said quietly. Diana looked over at Leona, whose brow had creased. She looked back at the page.

_ 'Found the temple, on the run from the Irons, not safe anymore.' _

Diana closed the section of the journal, looked down and was silent for a long, suffering moment. "Come on, we can go now," she said. Diana slipped the journal into the book she had found it in and hastily stood.

"Of course," Leona replied, pushing herself up from the floor. Diana crossed both her arms across her chest, clutching the book to her chest, her eyes cast downward. Leona curiously tilted her head. "It's getting dark. Do you want me to take you home?"

Diana shook her head. "Can we go to the river first?"

Leona thought it was an odd request, but decided not to question it. "Sure, if that's what you wish." They began to walk out of the library. 

They traversed quietly out of the village gates to the river. By now the sun had set and the surrounding woods made the mountain darker. Diana broke off from Leona as they neared the bank, heading away from the water to dryer ground. Leona watched curiously from the bank as Diana lowered herself onto the grass, staring up at the night sky. "Why did you want to come here?"

"Have you ever just watched the stars?" Diana asked, craning her neck so she could look upon Leona. “Have you actually stopped to look at them, to admire the night sky?”

Leona made a face, still firm in her spot. "Not that I can recall," she finally replied. Diana motioned for Leona to join her.

"Come. Watch with me."

Leona hesitated a moment, but soon joined Diana. Their heads were close, their feet pointing in opposite directions. Leona folded her arms behind her head. It was a particularly clear night; the stars shone brightly and the moon was in its waxing gibbous phase, and was only obscured by the occasional cloud passing by. She tilted her head a little in her arms, staring at the incomplete orb. "Out of all the times I've been outside during the night," she began, "I don't think I've ever actually  _ looked _ at the moon." She paused. “It’s beautiful.”

“Sometimes it is good to look upon the heavens and feel utterly small beneath them.” Diana pointed to a group of stars. "See those?" She looked briefly over to the Solari. "That's the Ice Witch. And those over there, those are the Three Princesses of Freljord. They're most visible in the last half of the year."

Leona shifted her head so that she was looking at Diana. She was silent for a while as she pondered. Finally she asked, "What was your mother like?"

Diana audibly drew in a deep breath, but remained motionless otherwise. "I can hardly remember," she answered, releasing the breath. "My father always told me she abandoned us, the Solari, and fled to Ionia."

"And what do you think?"

"Somehow I know it is not true. She would never abandon me." Diana's fingers absently scratched at the face of the book she held on her stomach. "She used to take me out into the valleys on nights like this. She'd show me the constellations and sing to me, she taught me the phases of the moon." Diana's brows furrowed; her eyes stung and she could feel her pulse in her temple. "And then one day she just vanished."

Leona halfway turned on her side, her body propped up by her elbow. "I'm sorry. I should not have asked." Diana only shook her head in response, her eyes never leaving the sky. Leona waited a moment to give Diana a chance to think, then added, "Do you think you'll find her one day?"

Diana was silent, save for another deep breath. She slowly raised herself to sit, then stood. "I'm not sure." She turned to Leona and extended a hand to pull her up. "We should go, before your dogs come after us." Diana continued ahead of her, listening as Leona brushed off her robes. “How goes your training?”

“Well enough,” Leona answered, trailing behind Diana. “The elders tell me once I am done they intend to send me to the Institute of War, to represent the Solari. Have you heard of it?”

Diana hummed. “Just rumors.” A pause. “How long do you think it will be before you go?”

Leona made a contemplative sound. “I cannot say with certainty. About a year, maybe more. Why?”

Diana was silent a moment, her eyes trained on the path forward. She slowed enough that Leona caught up with her, falling into place beside Diana. “It has been nice, not having the Solari breathing down my neck at every turn. I just wonder what would come when they send you off.”

“Have you no means to protect yourself?”

When Diana looked over to Leona, her companion’s face was twisted in confusion, as if the idea was completely foreign to her. “If you are asking if I can wield a blade, the answer is no.” She looked ahead again, where the gates lay silently ahead.

“Then I can teach you,” Leona immediately offered. “We can do it in the evenings once I’m finished with the elders. It might not be much, but it should at least give you a fighting chance.”

Diana laughed. “Maybe against the common folk or the elders. Certainly not the Irons.”

“I will teach you what I can. I promise.” 

A hand slipped into Diana’s, fingers folding together, and she nearly started at the contrast in temperature. When she looked to Leona to inquire, her companion simply smiled back at her, and whatever words she wanted to say became caught in her throat. 

They continued on to the village in silence, but Diana's mind was alive with thought. She planned on spending the rest of the night poring over the journal entries and notes. Whoever had last written in the journal, be it her mother or someone else, knew where the Lunari temple was located. There had to be something, a clue somewhere.

They were stopped halfway to the living district by an elder and an Iron Solari making a final round throughout the village. Both of them were scolded, Leona more so than the other. Leona was led away by the elder; the Iron Solari escorted Diana home.

The next few days passed slowly with neither of them having much contact with the other; Diana was absorbed in the text she had found, and the elders had resolved to summon Leona to train for longer hours and more frequently.


	4. Swordplay

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 5 (and those beyond) will take a bit longer because it's a turning point and things start getting a little more serious but here let me just drop this have fuuuuun

Some weeks had passed since Diana discovered the journal in the Solari archives. The Solari had kept to the punishment they doled out to Leona, keeping her well into the evening, until the last rays of the sun slipped behind the landscape. 

For her part, Diana spent every waking hour poring over the tattered pages of her discovery. She tirelessly compared the charts and diagrams in the journal to that of her own, updating what she could, and spying the heavens on sleepless nights. 

A rare week of rest allowed Leona to resume her self-imposed obligations to Diana. They met in the early hours of the morning, as Leona instructed, in an isolated clearing to the south of the village. 

“Take this,” Leona said, holding a sword out to Diana, who looked at her companion quizzically.

“You are giving me an actual sword to start with?” Diana questioned. Leona tilted her head, her brows drawn in confusion. “I mean, if this is what you deem best, so be it. But I don’t know what I’m doing. What if I end up hurting one of us?” Leona laughed, and the sound rang clear. The corners of Diana’s lips twitched into a smile.

“That’s the sword I’ve held through all my days as a tyro. It is horribly blunted; you would have to have the strength of a titan to cut anything with it. It might hurt, sure, if you land a blow on either of us,” she said, “but it would scarcely draw blood.”

Leona lifted her other hand. “This, too,” she said, and hoisted a simple leather breastplate upon Diana. “Just a precaution,” she said when Diana looked at her. “It might be a bit too large for you, but it will serve its purpose well enough.” Leona planted her shield in the dirt as Diana lifted the armor awkwardly.

“Here,” she said gently, helping her lift the piece up and over her head. She walked around her back, pulling Diana’s hair free from beneath the back of her breastplate. “It will be good to practice with this on, regardless of the danger. You should be accustomed to wearing its weight.” She instructed Diana to lift an arm, and tightened the buckles along her side when she did so. She repeated the process on the opposite side. She made a final circle around Diana, stepping away once satisfied. 

“Now,” Leona said, pulling her own sword from its scabbard. Diana looked at her; she had to squint in the morning sun. “Raise your sword like this.” Leona wrapped both hands around the hilt of her blade and stood with it parallel to her body, raised to her shoulders. Diana stood still for a moment, observing. When she made to copy the stance, Leona smiled and lowered her weapon. An amused huff left the Chosen’s lips.

“I’m sorry, I must look ridiculous,” Diana said quickly. She lowered the weapon to her side. Leona simply shook her head.

“No, no. I apologize. I am not criticizing you. Again,” she said, motioning to the blade as she walked around Diana. Diana obeyed, lifting the blade once more in the same awkward way. Leona eyed her curiously as she rounded her back. “Shoulders even,” she said softly, moving Diana’s arms into the correct position. Her touch lingered, holding her there. Diana’s heart quickened and she swallowed thickly. 

“Feet farther apart,” the Solari said, and she obeyed, mimicking Leona’s placement. “Knees bent slightly.” Leona leaned forward when she was in place, looking down the edge of the blade from over Diana’s shoulder. The Chosen of the Sun was close enough that Diana could feel her exhale upon the crook of her neck. When Leona made a satisfied hum, Diana’s stomach fluttered. “Good. Now hold that position.” Leona released her and walked back to her front, gathering her shield from the grass and holding it up. “Strike me.”

Diana inched forward a bit, hesitating. Leona edged her onwards, and she lunged forward to bring the blade down upon the shield with a dull thud.

“Excellent!” Leona exclaimed, lowering the shield. A smile broke across Diana’s face. A sense of joy, maybe pride burned in her chest. She could not stop the feeling from heating her face, hopefully hidden by the early morning sun. “That was not a bad swing. If you apply yourself to this the same way you do your studies, you may become a match for me,” she teased. 

“You jest,” Diana said, her eyes lowering. She let a hand slip through her hair. Leona moved forward, taking one of her hands and squeezing it.

“No, never. Your posture needs some work, but that will come with time. You’re a bit rigid.”

“I admit, it is a bit difficult to maintain that position, having never held a blade before.”

Leona hummed. “Maybe a lower-carrying stance, then? Something that would be easier for you, until you grow more accustomed to the weight?” A smile formed across Leona’s face when Diana looked up to her. It proved infectious. 

“I’d like that.”

“Let us continue then,” Leona said, dropping the shield again in favor of her sword. “We have all day.”

They continued on until late in the morning, though the session eventually devolved into teasing feints and chasing one another across the clearing. Diana called it quits first, doubled with laughter and red in the face from exhaustion. The pair found a tree on the edge of the clearing. They sat next to each other with their backs leaning into it. Diana was slumped into Leona’s side.

“So why is it that the elders released you for the week?” Diana asked, looking up to her companion. 

A thoughtful sound rumbled in Leona’s throat. “They didn’t technically,” she started. “They still want me to come to the temple for meditation.”

Diana’s brows creased and she sat up a bit, looking into Leona’s face. “Are you not worried that they will come looking for you?”

Leona laughed, “No.” She adjusted herself against the tree, looking up into its canopy. “The Harrowing is almost upon us. They were considering holding me up in the temple for its duration, but I refused.”

“People have been punished for far lesser offences, Leona.”

“They do not worry me. What are they going to do, suck the sunlight out of me?” Diana laughed and looked down to her lap, where her sword lay across her legs. “I have more power in one finger than the entire caucus combined. They know this, I think. It gives me some leverage.”

Diana was silent. She ran her fingers across the flat of the sword, scratching idly at the nicks that littered the metal when her nails caught in them.

“Besides,” Leona said, drawing Diana’s attention again. “The meditating, deep reverence— it has never suited me. It is just to keep me from you, I think.” Leona looked down at her with a roguish grin that quickly widened. She laughed when Diana pursed her lips and pointedly looked away.

“You should not say such things,” Diana said. She cursed at the way she flinched when Leona put an arm around her shoulders, pulling her further into her frame.

“You are priceless,” Leona replied into her hair. 

“You are their sun,” Diana protested. “You are what the Solari can only dream to be.”

“Maybe,” Leona admitted. The avatar slacked against the trunk of the tree, slumping against it. Her free hand reached across and clasped one of Diana’s, a thumb pressing across her knuckles. “But I am still human.” 

Leona urged Diana to look at her. She did so. Her heart caught in her throat when their gazes met. The Chosen's face was calm, placid, marred by the day's toils, though it did not detract from her radiance. "You speak highly of the figurehead of the people you go against," Leona murmured. “I wonder,” she continued with a tilt of her head. Her hands came up to cup Diana’s face. Diana’s heart pounded so wildly within her chest that she feared Leona may be able to hear it; it did not help when Leona’s lips curved into a smile. “Am I drawing you back to the light?”

The words caught in Diana’s throat, though she was unsure if her brain was capable of delivering them coherently anyway. Leona pulled her forward and she leaned into the action. She swallowed thickly, finally finding the nerve to speak again. “You said you would never do that.”

“And I won’t.” Leona was close enough that Diana could feel her breath upon her own lips. She hesitated on the edge, lips parted, but she sharply pulled away and extracted herself from the Solari. She stood facing away from her to hide her flushed features, the sword in a death grip.

“Shall we continue?” Diana said, her voice teetering on the brink of breathlessness. “It is still early in the day.” There was a pause, then a quiet laugh and rustling of grass.

“As you wish.”

A few hours passed since taking up their swords again. They were on their way back now, while the daylight was still abundant, before the elders or the Irons came looking for them. It was on Diana’s insistence. 

“I never asked,” Leona said. Diana looked up from her feet to Leona, who herself had her eyes trained on the path ahead. “How do your studies go? Have you found anything new?”

“It goes well enough,” Diana replied, kicking a pebble out of her path. “From what I can tell, the charts and diagrams line up correctly, but—” She sighed and pushed a hand through her hair. Her face twisted as she searched for the words she wanted. “Some of the more recent ones, they seem...coded.”

“Coded star mappings,” Leona said. “Interesting. To what end? Do you know?”

She grunted. “At a guess, the location of whatever temple was mentioned alongside the charts. Decoding them should not be terribly difficult, provided it aligns like the others.” 

“There’s a catch, isn’t there?”

“Always,” Diana said with a shake of her head. “Quite simply, it is the wrong time of year.” She briefly cut her eyes to Leona when she made a sound of understanding. “Another half year or so, maybe, and everything should be lined up.”

“That would be around the solstice, correct?” Diana saw movement from the corner of her eye. She turned her head; Leona veered closer toward her, looking in her direction.

“Thereabouts, yes.”

Leona hummed. She broke by her side and continued on ahead of Diana. The village gates were in view now. They continued on a few paces more before Leona stopped them just outside the village gates. She turned to look at Diana. Her brow was tense and a question danced upon her eyes. “Do you intend to find the temple, or whatever it is the journal refers to?”

There was something underlying about Leona’s expression, her voice, that made Diana’s chest ache. One corner of her lips twitched downward. “Eventually, yes,” she answered. 

“I see.” 

They continued, in total silence this time, reentering the village. They made their way into the plaza with the intent to return to the living district. People stopped their strides and work as Leona approached, bowing, saying a quick reverence, though she paid them little mind other than a quick glance. But when they saw Diana trailing after her, they continued on or scurried away. 

Leona’s eyes shot to the temple entrance as they rounded it, and her brow furrowed. Diana’s gaze followed hers, falling to the crest of the temple stairs. A group of elders gathered there, but upon seeing their Chosen they descended and marched towards the pair. 

“Avatar Leona,” one of them said when she turned to lose herself and Diana in the flow of people. The villagers stopped, then, as if sharing a single thought, began to disperse. Leona paused her stride, turning back to the group of elders. She moved so that she was standing in front of Diana. 

One of the men, the eldest of the group, eyed her and Leona imperiously, his nose held in the air. His beady green eyes were harsh underneath unkempt brows. “I see the Sun casts a shadow,” he said, his voice low and grovely. Diana sneered.

“It is as I told you, Demetrios,” another said. This one was much younger, having only been inducted recently. Elias, Diana vaguely recalled. He was a brash and capricious man, who politicked himself into his position following the untimely death of one of the caucus. “Our Chosen was with _that_ one again.”

“All light casts shadow,” Leona retorted. “Perhaps if you elders would spend more time outside your temple chambers, you would see so for yourself.” The elders turned to look upon each other, and Leona craned her head, standing straighter. 

“A barbed tongue,” Demetrios said with a shake of his head. “And you,” he boomed, looking to Diana. She flinched despite her best efforts not. “Why do you follow closely in her light?”

“She is my ward,” Leona hissed, moving to block his path when Demetrios and another of the elders advanced further. 

“She bears a blade,” Elias piped from behind the gathering. “For what purpose would she hold one?”

Demetrios looked to Leona, a hard scowl twisting his features. “Well?”

Diana took a step backwards. She looked around. Several pairs of eyes watched them from the edge of the plaza. 

“You will not teach her to fight,” Leona said, “so I will. It is disgraceful to the Rakkor to not be able to bear a weapon into battle.”

“But you are no longer Rakkor,” Elias blurted.

“You dare stand for one who works against you? Against your people?”

“Diana does not work against you any more than I do. You are paranoid.”

“You stray too far from the light, Leona,” Demetrios said. “You cannot shirk your responsibilities as Chosen of the Sun to play teacher and guardian to some _heretic_.”

Leona took a step forward, her face close to Demetrios’. The earth sizzled and cracked beneath her feet as she moved, leaving an impression of her gilded boots in her wake. “You _will not_ tell me otherwise,” she hissed. “I serve the interests of the people here, _all_ of them. I am not an idol to be sat in the highest recesses of your temple to be worshiped.” Leona paused, turning to look back at Diana and the other villagers. Her eyes were alight with fire. Her visage was twisted by disgust and anger, something Diana had not yet seen before upon her face. She swallowed when dark eyes met her own; something was placated in Leona, if only briefly. “If any of you so much as lay a hand on this woman,” Leona started. She turned back to the elders. Diana saw a hand go for the hilt of her sword. “I will cut you down myself.”

There was a pause, then a hushed murmur spread amongst the crowd as the elders shared gazes. “My Chosen, this—”

“Leave me,” Leona said, turning on her heel. She motioned with her head to Diana. Leona’s sword arm left her hilt and extended outward to herd her away, never touching her. Diana turned and continued out of the plaza with Leona at her side. 

“I regret that you had to see that,” Leona said once they were far enough away. The arm that extended behind her lowered once more to her sword. Diana looked over to her. Leona’s eyes were trained forward, her brow set in a harsh line and jaw clenched. She cast her own eyes to her feet.

“Thank you, truly. You did not need to do that.”

“But I did. They will not see reason unless I force my hand.” They rounded the corner to the living district. The road ahead was particularly barren, quiet in the afternoon sun. “I never wished for this,” Leona admitted. Diana looked at her.

“What do you mean?”

Leona sighed. “This Chosen thing. I did not ask to be the spearhead of a religion. I never thought I would be thrust upon duty and servitude.”

“You do not make it easy on yourself, being associated with me,” Diana replied. “It makes you a target.”

“Maybe.” Leona inhaled deeply. She looked around to the trees and sky above them, squinting a bit in the light. “You are easy to talk to,” she said. Diana’s heart caught and she looked to Leona with a surprised expression. “You do not seem to care that I am Chosen. You do not let it honey your every word, you do not…” She paused with a shake of her head. “I am just Leona to you.”

“Would you have it any other way?”

“No. Never.” Leona paused her stride and Diana followed suit, eyeing her curiously. Leona had her eyes downcast for a moment, before turning and looking over her shoulder. “I take it you will be resuming your studies at home.”

Diana’s brows furrowed. “I haven’t much else to do, unless you had something in mind.”

“I was just thinking,” Leona started, turning her eyes back to Diana only briefly before turning them away again. Diana blinked. “My mind is a bit dark at the moment. I do not wish to be alone.” She finally turned fully to Diana. Her eyes would not meet Diana’s, skipping this way and that, instead. “I was hoping you might stay with me a while longer.” 

A thoughtful sound escaped Diana’s throat. “I see. If it would help, then I will stay with you.” A contagious smile spread across Leona’s lips.

“Is there somewhere you’d like to go? Home, maybe?”

“It would be a bit cramped for the two of us.” Diana paused, looking around. “I do not think I’ve seen where you stay yet.” Leona’s expression brightened a measure when she looked back at her.

“Well, I do not stay there much,” Leona said, continuing down the path slowly. Diana followed. “Mostly the elders have me remain in the temple, though I think I will be going home more often now.”

“Is it far from here?”

Leona shook her head. “Not terribly so, it is past the corner,” she said, and pointed. “Down at the end. ” Leona paused a moment, looking around at the surrounding buildings. When she turned back to Diana, a small smile curved her lips. “Shortcut?” she said, motioning with her head to the spaces between the buildings. Diana returned the look and nodded. 

Leona led them between the buildings until reaching her own. Diana raised a brow upon looking at it. Whereas the buildings bestowed to the younger acolytes were often afforded a single room, and those of older members a slightly larger living space, this one boasted an upper floor at least, if the window high above them was any indication. 

“It isn’t very impressive,” Leona said, and Diana realized she must have caught her looking dumbfounded. “It serves well enough, however.” She pushed the door in and ducked inside; Diana followed closely behind her. She slowly closed the door behind her, her eyes scanning around the entryway. A darkened hearth crowned the room, with shelves on each side and a sun crest above the mantel. Some living chairs were scattered about. They were draped in fabric and lined with throw pillows. A wall was to her far left, and beyond that looked to be a dining area.

Leona went to the hearth and went about lighting it. "Sorry about the dust," she muttered. The hearth roared to life after a few moments, illuminating more things hidden in the dark. Swords and shields of the Iron Solari style decorated the walls; sconces with burned-down candles; the shelves were littered with baubles of different makes. A bookshelf sat against the wall adjacent to the hearth. 

“Dust does not bother me overmuch,” Diana said, leaning her sword against one of the living chairs. Her eyes explored the walls. “Are all of these your things?”

Leona rose, a burning lighting stick in hand and set about lighting a few of the sconces about the entryway. “No. I inherited most of them. I would get rid of them, send for my things back home, but the elders might have my head.” 

Diana ventured further ahead, drawn to the bookshelf. She tilted her head to read the spines, browsing over them before finally pulling one out. She turned it over in her hands, examining the back, before opening it and thumbing through the first few pages.

“Anything good?” Diana turned her head, finding Leona lighting a final sconce and shaking the stick to extinguish it. She pitched it into the hearth as she walked back to Diana.

Diana’s eyes returned to the pages before her for a moment. “I’ve read most of these, I think.” Her eyes returned to Leona. “Have you not read any of these before?”

A smile graced Leona’s lips and she looked down. “Demetrios has me do enough reading. More is the last thing I want to do after a long day.” Diana’s eyes turned back to the page, reading a few of the lines before leafing ahead a bit. “Thank you,” Leona said, drawing her attention once more. She looked at the sun’s Chosen with knitted brows. “For coming here, indulging me.”

“Of course,” Diana replied almost immediately. She closed the book, replacing it back upon the shelf. “You were distressed, I—” She reached out to place a hand on Leona’s arm, but she moved away in unison. Diana’s head tilted. “Is everything all right?”

Leona shook her head dismissively. “The metal,” she started. “It might still be hot. I do not want to hurt you.”

Diana recoiled a bit. “From what? What happened in the plaza, the elders?”

Leona nodded. “A simplification, perhaps, but yes.” She looked down to the side. “It is why I wanted to stay around you a while longer. You are a pleasant distraction from my thoughts.” She paused for a second before pulling upon her gauntlets and vambraces, throwing them atop the fireplace mantel once her digits were freed. 

A tender smile spread across Diana’s lips, her heart swelling with sudden affection. When Leona extended her hands to her, she took them and drew herself a step closer. “We are friends, Leo. I would do all that I can if it meant easing your mind.”

A small laugh escaped Leona and she looked down to their hands. “Friends,” she repeated, a thumb pressing across Diana’s skin. “You do not know how much I cherish this. My actions, my words; I hope their sincerity is not lost on you.” Her eyes drifted back to meet Diana’s again, and she was enraptured by the way the firelight danced and made shadows across her visage. It accentuated the sharpness of her features, softened the harshness of her gaze. She had to swallow to stop a lump from rising in her throat. 

A hand released hers and replaced itself upon her cheek. It compelled her closer, and she obeyed until they were mere inches from connecting. This time, it was Leona who hesitated upon the yawning precipice. “Is this okay?”

“Yes,” Diana ghosted, and connected their lips. The hand that still held upon her own moved to instead cup her face completely. Diana’s hands, now freed, roamed and placed themselves to the front of Leona’s shoulders. The metal beneath her palms was warm, but not hot as Leona suggested it to be, and she relaxed into the touch.

A relieved exhale escaped Leona when they parted, then a small laugh as she lowered her head to touch Diana’s. “Be still, my heart,” she muttered. Diana huffed an amused sound. Leona sighed. A thumb pressed across Diana’s brow. “You may come here as often as you like. My door will always be open to you.”

A small sound escaped Diana’s throat. “Thank you.” 


	5. Breach

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was slightly delayed due to some unforeseen things, but here it is.
> 
> This was initially meant to be longer and encompass much more. However, I felt that it would drone on, maybe be confusing and become word vomit. Typically the longer I make a chapter the more difficult it is for me (personally, I don't know about anyone else) to edit and make sure things are consistent. I will write a long (10k-ish words) chapter if needed, but if I can separate the thoughts concisely with more chapters I tend to do that instead. Sorry if this makes the chapters seem or read odd.
> 
> As always I love feedback, so if I did something that is inconsistent or doesn't make sense to you please feel free to call it out. Sometimes it is difficult for myself and my beta reader to catch before publishing.

_ “Meet me in the clearing at dawn.” _

Diana was awake well before the sun began to slip over Targon’s slopes. The words that lay scrawled upon parchment kept her mind alight even through sleep, as Leona’s notes always did. They were placed upon her desk at some unknown hour; a gift, a vow when duty drew them apart. It made her chest burn even thinking of the script written in a firm but flowing hand. 

It was a sort of ritual they had, to meet in the early hours of the morning before mass to spar, to spend an hour or two in brief respite. 

She had done this so many mornings that the motions were almost automatic now. It drove her through the dark despite the languor that still clung to her bones. She donned a tamu woollen gambeson, trousers, her gloves and boots; strips of leather to keep her hair from her face, woven through tresses with practised ease. The leather breastplate, fastened over the gambeson; the tyro sword upon her hip. 

The sun would begin to bleed into the horizon once she finished, heralding her out of her hovel to meet with the Radiant Dawn. 

She looked up as she walked down the path. The stars stretched across the heavens in great clouded bands, their brilliance dimmed with the coming rays of the sun. The Solari would say that this was the sun overthrowing the dark, that its light was so strong to drown out all others and that it had come to claim dominion and breathe life into the mountain for another day. To Diana, this inbetween, the coalescence of night and day, was not a war between skies, but a peace offering, a truce; a promise.

The birds began to trill as Diana made her way to the southern gate. The fields to her left and right held swaying shadows, the beginnings of the season’s harvest. The air was thick with the smell of wild grass and flowers and dew. A tamu bleat erupted in the distance and soon a chorus of others followed it.

She made her way to the clearing, the village far behind her now, and paused upon its edge to scan the treeline in the early morning rays. Her brows furrowed. It was unusual for her to arrive before Leona. Most often they would meet on the path to the clearing, or Leona would be sitting beneath  _ their _ tree, as she called it, waiting for her. But Leona was nowhere to be found. Diana continued on into the clearing, eyes scanning left and right, a palm pressed into the pommel of her sword. 

An eerie feeling crept into her gut as she walked, as if eyes watched her from the trees. She doubled her efforts, straining in the dim light to make out any movement, hear any out of place sound. “Leo,” she called out, her breath visible in the cool morning air, “do not play games with me.”

She took a step forward, then another, and froze in her place upon hearing the crunch of wood beneath something heavy. She turned sharply. As she did, a force assailed her back, an arm going around her middle. A torrent of laughter echoed as she shrieked. It was only once she felt lips against the shell of her ear and crook of her neck did she realize who had captured her, and she stilled herself with a suffering exhale. 

“You nearly scared me to death,” she said breathlessly. The arm around her middle squeezed tighter. She placed a hand over Leona’s.

Leona laughed against her hair. “I have a peace offering, if it would help.” Leona’s other arm came around to Diana’s front, holding a sheathed sword. Diana gingerly took it, turning it over in her hands before unsheathing it.

“A sword is an unusual peace offering,” she muttered.

“Maybe not to the Rakkor.” Leona's free arm encircled her. "You were advancing quickly with the sword. I thought you could use something more practical." There was a pause as Diana examined the sword. “Do you like it?”

“Yes,” Diana answered. She turned the blade over in her hand, feeling its weight. “It feels well balanced.”

Leona hummed in her ear. “I thought so, too. Just be careful with it. It’s sharp enough to cut to bone.” Diana sheathed the sword, lowering it to her side. She turned in Leona’s embrace to face her. A smile stretched across Leona’s lips and Diana could not stop herself from doing the same. “You look beautiful today.”

Diana scoffed. “You always say that.”

“Because it is always true,” Leona replied. Her mirth only grew when Diana turned her head with an exasperated sigh. 

She playfully hit the front of Leona’s shoulder. “ _ Stop _ , before you make me ill,” Diana teased. She turned easily from her embrace, walking towards their usual resting place amongst the trees. She leaned down to place her new sword leaning against the trunk.

“You don’t want to spar with it?” Leona asked, causing her to stop halfway through the motion and look over her shoulder at her.

“Would that be all right?”

“Of course,” Leona replied. A smug grin crossed her lips. “I’ll even go easy on you.”

Diana huffed and undid the buckles keeping the tyro sword at her hip, tossing it to the grass as she took up the new one and unsheathed it. “Please, you’ve no need to do that.” She flicked her wrist as she turned, assuming a guarded stance and eyeing Leona. “Draw your weapon, then.”

Leona laughed, but drew her shield from her back and unsheathed her sword. She took a stance and Diana edged forward, circling her. They kept their eyes trained on one another.

Diana moved in to strike first, thrusting the blade forward. Leona’s shield rose to block the blow. Leona’s sword swiped for Diana’s side, but the blow was parried. 

Diana stepped backwards, taking up a guard again. Leona advanced and threw out blow after blow, all parried. Diana turned the final strike aside and arced her weapon up, and its flat hit Leona’s side. A smile cracked across her lips when Leona’s brows shot up. She took the opportunity for another swing. Leona caught the sword with her own, driving their hands up and they closed in. This time Leona smiled.

“Your form is good,” she said, and shoved Diana away with her shield. 

She stumbled backwards, struggling for purchase before gathering herself again. “Are you fighting or flirting?”

Leona laughed. “Both.”

They clashed again, exchanging small, taunting blows. Diana adopted a high guard and circled before bringing her sword down in a moulinet. Leona’s shield came up to protect her head. As the blow connected, Diana delivered a kick to Leona’s middle, sending the warrior backwards into the grass. She advanced forward, pointing her sword at her chest with a satisfied grin. An amused sound left Leona’s lips. “I yield,” she said.

Diana offered a hand and pulled Leona to her feet. "Perhaps I should go easy on you instead," she teased. Leona shook her head as she bent to retrieve her sword. "Again?"

The next hour found them spent beneath the tree. Diana sat with her back against the tree. Leona was sprawled in the grass next to her, her head in Diana’s lap. 

“Cereval, she looked at me,” Leona started, a laugh bleeding into her words, “and she pointed to my sword and said, ‘Is the sword of your predecessor not enough? Do you need common steel?’”

“What did you say to her?”

“No, I told her, it was not, I wanted to fight like the common barbarians at the foot of the mountain.” She paused a moment to slough off a gauntlet and wipe her fingers across her eyes. “I think she took the hint after that and gave me the coin purse I asked for.”

Diana huffed, the corners of her lips turning upward. “She was never the brightest of stars amongst the caucus.”

Leona struggled to contain her mirth. “Oh, but you should have seen her face, it was like this—” She made a face and roared with laughter after a moment. “It was so priceless!”

Diana could not help but laugh, more so because Leona was nearly doubled next to her. “Seems like a lot of trouble just for a sword.”

Leona took a few steadying breaths, releasing a final short bark of laughter, “Maybe. But it was worth it, I think.” 

“I can’t imagine Demetrios will be pleased when he finds coin from the treasury gone, or that you gave a sword to ‘that heretic,”’ Diana mockingly said. “Might even give Cereval a stern talking to.”

“He won’t be happy, no doubt. I do not regret it though.” Leona turned her head, looking out across the clearing. The mirth drained from her face. Diana’s expression sombered. She reached a hand out and placed it upon Leona’s. The Chosen’s fingers curled around her own. 

“Something on your mind, Leona?”

Leona’s eyes went back up to her, and her demeanor softened. “No, it is nothing important.” 

She leaned down a bit. “Has anyone told you that you are a horrible liar?” A smile cracked over Leona’s lips, but it was fleeting. “What’s going on?”

Leona sighed. Her eyes shifted upward, gaze darting amongst the canopy. “My training nears its end,” she said. “I will be taking my vows in a month.”

“And after that?”

“They still intend for me to represent them at the Institute of War.” 

“Seems silly to send their figurehead to fight,” Diana idly commented. 

“It is pride,” Leona said with disdain. “Why send the strongest of the Iron when they could send the sun itself? They want their influence spread. What better way is there to do so?” The sun’s Chosen huffed. Diana let her fingers slip through the crown of her hair. “I have tried reasoning with them, but they will not hear it. I know not when they will send me away.”

“We still have time,” Diana said. “There is no reason to worry about it now.”

A sad smile graced Leona’s lips. “Funny, I was thinking it would be I who would say those words to you, not the other way around.”

They were silent for a moment with only the sounds of the morning around them.

“We should head back soon,” Leona said. 

A smile quirked on Diana’s lips. “We should,” she admitted. “Will we, though?”

Leona rose with a huff, gathering herself from the grass, and extended a hand to Diana. Diana allowed herself to be pulled upwards. She was backed against the tree before she could get her bearings. Leona captured her face and pulled her in, crushing their lips together and swallowing a surprised sound. Diana inhaled sharply as a pang seared from her chest into the pit of her stomach.

Leona left only a hair’s breadth between them when they parted. A challenge, or perhaps a warning, burned across her eyes. Diana swallowed and took a steadying breath. Leona’s hands traveled down her front, coming to rest upon her hips. She could not help but squirm beneath the touch, feeling the contrast of one armored hand, one not.

“I’ve already been late to the temple this week because of your antics.” The Chosen’s brow tensed and her eyes skipped back and forth. “I want to savor the time we have left together, not spend it shuttered away from you.”

Diana released a breath she did not realize she was holding. She parted her lips to speak, but found herself unable and nodded instead. Leona’s head tilted. She withdrew, gathering her things and turning. She cast a lingering stare at Diana, still glued to the tree, as she turned to make her way out of the clearing. 

“I will find you later,” Leona said, turning her gaze from Diana.

Diana slacked heavily against the tree, releasing an exasperated huff as she watched the Chosen stride away. 

Diana returned to the village some time later. She stopped briefly at her quarters. She sloughed off her breastplate and left the tyro sword behind, fastening the new sword to her hip instead. She gathered a few of her things, the journal and her notes on its entries, and made her way to the archives. Other Solari eyed her warily as she approached and passed, eyes trained on the sword and hurrying away. She paid many of them little mind, especially those who also brandished weapons upon their hips.Those regarded her with a scornful look as she passed.

It was mid-afternoon when she ascended the stairs of the archives. She padded quietly inside, ducking behind rows of shelves to avoid the other acolytes. She made her way to a secluded corner well within the archives. Diana laid her things out across a table and set to work. 

“You know weapons are not permitted here, Diana.” Diana turned in her chair. Elias was some ways off, approaching her. He had a smug look on his face, mirth painted across his eyes as he looked down upon her. She scowled at him.

“They were, until you used your honeyed words on Demetrios,” she hissed. 

“Weapons have no place in an institute dedicated to knowledge,” Elias continued. He folded his arms behind his back. “Violence does nothing but detract from an acolyte’s abilities to learn.”

She laughed. Elias looked at her with a twisted expression. “That is absolute shit and you know it. Do you believe yourself? Do you see me swinging my weapon around at everyone and everything?”

Elias groveled. “It does not stop you from doing so.”

“This weapon is for my  _ protection, _ ” Diana said, narrowing her eyes at him. “I have absolutely no desire to raise it to anyone without just cause.”

“Protection?” he balked. “From what, mice?”

“You,” she answered coldly. She grimaced when he recoiled. “And anyone else who might do me harm.” She turned further in her chair, staring up at the elder with a dark expression. “All I want is to be left in peace, to study and seek what was forgotten. And yet you elders seem bent on persecuting me for it.”

“Because it is  _ heresy,  _ Diana,” he snarled. “You do not know what the Solari lost to the traitorous moon. The price was too high, it was too much.”

“And what did the moon lose?” she countered. “The elders managed to completely change the Solari’s worldview in just a few generations. They completely obliterated the Lunari off the face of Targon.” Her voice raised a measure, enough that it began to echo off the walls. The subtle background noise that was ever-present in the archives had died away. “What price did they possibly pay that was higher than the Lunari’s freedom? Than their lives?” 

“Your avatar,” he sneered lowly, “your beloved  _ Moon’s Chosen _ , she killed the Sun with his own weapon.”

“Lies, fed to you by Demetrios,” Diana replied. She rose from her chair. She kept her expression flat as she maintained eye contact with Elias. He was young, almost babyfaced, no more than ten summers her senior. It disgusted her how one so young could have their mind corrupted by what was supposed to be their betters. An utter waste, she thought. “Take my weapon, Elias,” she challenged. “I’m sure Avatar Leona will be none too pleased you put me in my place.” 

His visage twisted with anger. He huffed, turning sharply and walking away from her. She stood a moment longer, shaking her head.

She spent the better half of the remaining sunlight poring over the documents she brought with her. The table she occupied was nearly full by the time the light grew dim. 

She was so engrossed in the workings of a star chart that she jumped when a pair of hands placed themselves on her shoulders. She turned her head. Leona smiled down at her warmly. 

“How goes the studies?”

She looked back to the mess before her, pushing a hand through her hair. “Good, I think. I’ve nearly got another chart decoded. In a few short weeks, I should be able to put all this to rest. I’m close.” She looked back up when Leona squeezed gently. Her brows furrowed at the tired smile adorning the Chosen’s face, the way languor hung in her eyes. It was unusual. “Are you well?”

“I am fine, just spent is all,” Leona replied, waving her off. She released her hold on Diana and pointed to the contents of the table. “Is all of this coming with you?” 

“Ah, no, sorry.” Diana hastily gathered her things together in one place, the archive’s things in another. Leona aided her in putting them back. Diana gathered the rest and they made their way out of the archives. She squinted in the light as they descended the stairs. 

Leona released a suffering sigh and Diana’s eyes turned to her. Leona’s eyes were trained forward, half-lidded and tired. Diana’s brows knitted together. She continued to follow the Solari across the village in silence, but her eyes would dart over to Leona every now and then. Each time a nagging feeling crept at the back of her mind. 

“Leo,” she said gently, placing a hand upon her companion’s arm. “Are you certain you are okay? You were not like this earlier.” Leona paused her stride and she followed suit. The Chosen looked to her, eyes bright and beaming now, though Diana knew she was just trying to hide whatever ailed her. It only made Diana more concerned. 

“It is nothing to worry your brow over,” Leona insisted. “The elders,” She continued her stride; Diana trailed after her. “They are preparing me for the end of my training. Drawing out the Sun is what they called it.” She sighed again. Diana could hear the slightest tremble in her breath. “It is much more taxing than I anticipated.”

Diana frowned. “I’m sorry. We should make haste then. I do not wish to keep you if you need time to rest.”

Leona chuckled. “Time spent with you is not time wasted.” Diana felt her face heat and she looked away with pursed lips. “I would gladly endure this if it meant it meant seeing you at its end.”

“You flatter me.”

They continued on through the heart of the village and into the living district. The faintest of odd smells caught Diana’s attention as they neared her room, though she ignored it until it became overpowering. She gently tapped Leona’s arm with the back of her hand. “Do you smell that?” she whispered. Leona’s brows furrowed and she turned her head. She had a dire look in her eyes when her gaze fell back to her.

“Smoke,” Leona said, breaking into a run. 

Leona somehow managed to get to Diana’s door before she did. “Look at this,” Leona said as she approached, pointing to the door. A full and crescent moon, one above the other, was burned into the wood of the door. Diana’s heart sank into her stomach. “Do you know what this is?” Leona asked. Her voice had the faintest hints of venom. Diana did not, could not respond. Instead she was compelled forward, pressing upon the door, but it would not yield. 

She huffed. “It’s been jammed.”

“Let me,” Leona offered, shooing her away. She pressed upon the door, but still it would not budge. Leona stepped back, took a steadying breath and kicked the door. It rattled in its frame. She kicked it again, and the door shifted. Leona stumbled backwards a few paces before catching herself. She went to the door and pushed on it again until it budged open. She cursed and hurried inside.

“What is it?” Diana asked, craning her head.

“You need to see this.”

She trailed warily after Leona into the room. Her jaw dropped and she briefly looked to Leona. Her expression was torn between lividity and despair. Diana’s notes, the countless tomes she had cultivated over the last years, lie scattered and torn and smouldering across the floor. The desk and bed frame had been broken in two. The tyro sword lay in two pieces, snapped at the hilt; the breastplate was gone. “Who would do something like this?” the Sun’s Chosen said, making a wide gesture with her arm across the destroyed room. Diana had an idea, but she did not speak it, instead laying her things down upon the desk chair, one of the few things oddly left unscathed, and bent to the floor. “I will find whoever did this,” Leona said above her, pacing like an animal.

Diana shook her head. “It won’t be worth your time,” she said gently. 

“No, this is unacceptable. This is an attack, a—”

“Leona.”

The Chosen stomped her foot. “It is a disgrace, a shame; low, cowardly—”

“ _ Leona _ ,” she tried again, her voice a hair harsher now and tainted with emotion. Leona paused her stride. She crouched next to her as Diana took one of the ruined journals, leafing through it carefully. The burned edges crumbled beneath her touch. She shook her head to fight back the sting in her eyes.

“I’m sorry,” Leona quietly offered. “Is there anything I can do?” Diana mutely shook her head, pursing her lips. She saw Leona reach for one of the journals and watched as it began to smoulder beneath her fingers. She dropped it with a curse and Diana reached over to hastily extinguish it. Leona rose with a sigh. “I will be outside.”

A tear slipped uninhibited down her cheek. She moved across the floor, stacking the remains of the pages and journals together with shaking fingers. A war waged in her head, screaming with rage and simultaneously sobbing with despair. She understood, and yet she did not, why one would do this. Its absurdity sent another wave of emotion flooding into her chest and she choked back a sob. 

“Diana,” Leona called from the door. She looked over her shoulder to her. A worried expression twisted her features. Her lips parted but she hesitated for a moment and her brows knitted together. “Why don’t you come home with me?” she finally managed. Diana narrowed her eyes at her in question. 

“No,” she muttered. “I do not wish to force myself into your space.”

“You will be doing nothing of the sort,” Leona said, walking to her side. “You have always been welcome there, you know that.” She crouched again. An unarmored hand passed over her hair. Diana leaned heavily into the touch. “If they could do this to your things, what might they do to you?” 

“I will be fine, truly,” Diana insisted with a shake of her head. Leona sighed and leaned forward, urging Diana to look at her. She did so warily, finding a pained look in her eyes. 

“Stay with me,” Leona whispered. She reached and took one of Diana’s hands, gripping it tightly. “You will be safe there, I promise. You won’t be in the way or a burden or...anything.” 

Diana looked away again, across the ruined remains of her room and things. She bit her lip as she contemplated. Leona was looking at her expectantly when she returned her gaze to her. “Okay,” Diana managed weakly. A small smile stretched across Leona’s lips and a relieved exhale escaped her. 

Diana set about gathering the ruins of her things, packing them away in what remained of her robes. Dusk had settled when the pair left the ruined room. Many of the Sun’s flock were returning to their homes, some casting lingering stares at the pair. Leona led them between the buildings, away from prying eyes. 

They continued in silence until coming to Leona’s door. The Chosen pushed the door open with a stiff exhale. “I do not know what you might need in terms of space,” she said as Diana followed behind her. She ran a hand over her head. Diana’s eyes peered around the darkened entryway, her fingers twisting in the fabric of her robes. She was already unsure of what to do with herself, feeling out of place despite Leona’s reassurance.

Leona pulled her from her thoughts. “There’s tables, chairs. The bookshelf can be cleared, if you desire it.” 

“I think I can manage with just a table somewhere quiet for now.”

“There is plenty of space in my armory.” Leona motioned with her head to the stairs. Diana followed her to the upper floor. She led her into a room just off the top of the stairs and instructed her to wait. Diana padded over to the large window on the far side of the room, peering out into the darkening village. She swallowed thickly, seeing the tallest spire of the temple silhouetted against the sky. 

Leona returned pulling a small wooden table, and then a chair, through the doorway. Diana put her things down and helped her move them despite Leona’s protesting that she needed not to. 

“I can move some of these if you’d like,” Leona said as they backed the table into a corner, motioning with one hand to the various armor stands and weapon racks littered about the room. Diana shook her head, looking off around the room with pursed lips. Emotion began to prick at the back of her throat again and she clenched her jaw. 

“Your robes,” Leona continued, drawing Diana to look at her again. She must have had a dire look on her face, the way Leona’s eyes sombered. She offered her hands to Diana and she took them. “I have an empty dresser in my room. You are welcome to use it.”

“Thank you,” Diana forced. 

“There is but one problem, I think,” Leona said, her eyes casting sideways for a moment. “There is not a spare bed. I can have one brought here,” Leona hastily added when Diana furrowed her brows at her. “It will have to be tomorrow, but if that is what you want—”

“I do not have a problem sharing,” Diana said before she could even process the offer. “That is, if you do not mind.”

Leona stared at her, lips parted, an unreadable expression in her eyes for a lingering second before she seemed to find her voice again. “No, of course not.” She pursed her lips, her eyes darting downward. “If you change your mind—”

“Leo.” Diana cupped the Chosen’s face and leaned upwards to place a chaste kiss upon her lips. “Thank you. For everything.” She slid her arms to circle around Leona’s neck in an embrace which was returned in kind. She sighed as she rested her cheek against Leona’s spaulder, eyes closed as she drank in Leona’s presence. 

“I could sleep on the floor, if you prefer,” Leona said gently. 

“Absolutely not.”

“Or in one of the chairs.”

“What was that you said this morning,” Diana wondered aloud, “that you’d rather spend time with me instead of away from me?”

A bark of laughter escaped Leona. “Yes, well, this is not how I imagined it would go.” Leona pulled back enough to look Diana in the face. It was evident she was still spent, perhaps even more so now, as Diana looked upon her tired features. “We will figure this out.”

Diana looked down, releasing a stiff exhale. “You won’t have to worry about me for tonight, at least. I doubt I will be sleeping til it grows early.” Leona had a question upon her eyes when she looked back up to her. “I want to look through my things. It will likely take some time.”

“Was anything important lost?”

“There is no way to know until I go through them.” She scowled. “Luckily I had the most important pieces with me. Still, the loss is...I cannot even begin to think of it.” Diana shook her head, lightly patting the front of Leona’s shoulder. “Go. You look exhausted. Do not let me keep you.” Leona gave a light huff as Diana pulled from her embrace. Diana offered a withering look and a slight smile as she went for her things, hoping it would put the warrior’s mind at ease. 

She spent some time rifling through her things in comfortable silence, placing the remains of her notes and journals upon the table. The silence was broken every now and then as Leona undid the various buckles and closures that held her armor in place. Diana gathered her robes, left the armory and went to the Solari’s room at the end of the hall. She rummaged through one of the two dressers in the room and, upon finding the first filled, went to the other and carefully put her robes away. She left one out, sullied by ash, and laid it across a chair situated in a corner. 

Diana made her way back to the armory. She paused upon the doorway, finding Leona sitting upon the floor next to a now filled armor stand. She was left in rather worn looking clothing. Her eyes were closed, head tilted back. A smile spread across Diana’s lips, and she quietly went to Leona’s side. Leona’s eyes fluttered open as Diana lowered herself to the floor. Diana tilted her head. She reached out a hand to touch Leona’s. “Go to bed,” she said softly. The Chosen grumbled a response but made to push herself up nonetheless. 

“You’re gonna need light in here, if you plan to be up all night,” Leona muttered.

“I will take care of it. Go,” she urged again, following Leona to the doorway. Leona paused at it, slowly turned to face Diana once more. Diana’s lips parted to retort, but Leona captured her jaw and placed a smouldering kiss upon her lips. Diana froze in place, heat flooding through her chest and rising upwards. One of her hands managed to clutch around the wrist that held her captive.

Leona pulled away from her, her lips quirking in the faintest of smiles. “Do not work yourself too hard,” she said gently. She leaned in to place a final, chaste kiss to her forehead before turning from the doorway, leaving Diana still for a moment longer. It was as though a spell lifted from her when she heard the door to Leona’s room click shut, and she slumped upon the doorframe. 

Damn that woman.

Diana’s gaze fell across the table and she sighed, crestfallen once more. She stalked out of the room, back down the stairs, to gather candles and begin her night’s work. 


End file.
